The Trans Pacific Partnership Needs Japan

Law360, New York (December 1, 2010, 11:27 AM EST) -- With the Doha Round languishing, the only action on the trade front these days emanates from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. And, until recently, that exercise was a yawner to most trade aficionados. But then Japan came along, sort of!

At midyear, the TPP participants were the U.S., Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, and Peru. Among that group of countries the U.S. already had free trade agreements with all but Brunei and New Zealand. Hence, TPP was essentially a bilateral FTA negotiation with New...